Hiking the PCT in 2027

2027 PCT permit dates

The PCT Long-distance Permit is free and covers anyone hiking 500 or more miles in one continuous trip. You start on the date and at the place on your permit. These dates come from the PCTA’s 2027 permit post, checked October 13, 2026. Check it again before each release day.

1. OCT 15 TO OCT 22First registration periodOpens October 15 at 10:30 AM Pacific and closes October 22 at 3 PM Pacific. You register once per permit year, even if you registered before.
2. NOV 4First Permit Release DayHikers who registered in the first period can apply for a start date and location. The afternoon before, the PCTA emails each person a randomized appointment time between 10:30 AM and 3 PM Pacific; later slots may find the popular dates gone.
3. NOV 5 TO DEC 11Second registration periodOpens November 5 at 10:30 AM and closes December 11 at 3 PM Pacific.
4. JAN 13Second Permit Release DayThe second round of start dates.
5. JAN 14 ONWARDRegistration and applications reopenFrom January 14 at 10:30 AM Pacific, for any start dates still open.

Wait until your application is approved before you book travel. The PCTA says so too.

How the quota works

The Forest Service caps northbound starts south of Sonora Pass at 50 permits a day, allows none of those starts in June, and only issues northbound thru-hike permits for start dates from March 1 to May 31. Southbound thru-hikes get 15 permits a day for starts from June 15 to July 31. That is why the two release days exist: the quota dates go first, on November 4, to people who registered in October, and whatever is left goes on January 13. Hiking with a partner? Link your accounts in the permit portal at least 24 hours before release day so one application covers both of you. Rules from permit.pcta.org and its how-to-apply page, checked October 13, 2026.

Two things that changed since my hike. Canada ended the PCT entry permit on January 31, 2025, so the trail now ends with a 30-mile walk back from the monument to Harts Pass; permits are not issued for Manning Park starts either. And fire closures move every summer, so bookmark closures.pcta.org now. In 2026 both the approach to Stehekin and the last miles to the border closed for weeks.

Picking a start date

I started April 30 from Campo. That put me in the High Sierra in mid June, on Whitney June 13, and through the Dixie Fire closure in Northern California in July. The PCTA’s advice is to pick a date that fits your experience, because many people who start too early or too late run into conditions beyond their skill level. My day-by-day timing is on the leg table, and each leg page has the dates and the conditions that week.

DAY 1 · APRIL 30, 2021 · CAMPO

Plan the rest with these

• The plant based PCT resupply guide, 2027 season64 stops, what each town carries, and where a mailed box is advised, with the date each was checked.
• Plant based PCT mail dropsWhich stops deserve a mailed box, and what to pack in it.
• My PCT gear list, checked against the receiptsWhat I carried from Campo to Canada, and what I changed on the way.
• The PCT mapAll 26 legs with trail miles, the towns, passes and lakes, and the elevation profile.
• The Southern California water atlas56,265 hiker water reports, so you can see where the desert water fails and when.
• The 2021 fire closureWhat the 2021 Dixie Fire closure looked like from the trail.
• The free resupply checklistEvery stop on one printable page, sent by email.